The long-anticipated County of Grande Prairie municipal census will begin on April 3rd.
The county has not conducted a census since 2012 and says the project is timely due to the expected population growth after the county took over responsibility for the dissolved Village of Hythe in 2021.
According to the provincial government, it is required that the county review its number of councillors and electoral division boundaries before the 2025 municipal election to determine whether growth or decline has created a population imbalance in the county’s communities.
Additionally, numerous provincial and federal grants are based on population, therefore, the more accurate the population count, the more funding the county is eligible to receive, which officials say will be utilized for essential services such as infrastructure.
The census will take place between April 3rd and May 31st, and all county households will receive a PIN beginning on the third. Residents will need their unique PIN to complete the census online or in-person.
Residents who choose to complete the census online should expect six questions, and those who choose to complete it in-person should expect a census worker wearing a county identification badge to show up at their door from April 15th to May 31st.